A person of exceptional merit, generally a non-United States citizen, may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress, or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress.
Seven people have been so honored, five posthumously, and two, Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, during their lifetimes.
Read more about Honorary Citizen Of The United States: Recipients, Legal Issues
Famous quotes containing the words united states, citizen, united and/or states:
“I feel most at home in the United States, not because it is intrinsically a more interesting country, but because no one really belongs there any more than I do. We are all there together in its wholly excellent vacuum.”
—Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957)
“... any citizen should be willing to give all that he has to give his country in work or sacrifice in times of crisis.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take active part in the quarrels of Europe. Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours. Their mutual jealousies, their balance of power, their complicated alliances, their forms and principles of government, are all foreign to us. They are nations of eternal war.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation.”
—William McKinley (1843–1901)